Mendota Vietnam Veteran receives life-altering cochlear implants through Hines VA
Over 37 million American adults suffer hearing loss, including more than half of those over the age of 75.
78-year-old James Flaherty is no longer one of them.
In 1964, when Flaherty was serving in Vietnam, he suffered sensorineural hearing loss after being exposed to the constant sounds M2 Browning machine guns and airplanes soaring overhead. For over 50 years, the Mendota, Illinois, U.S. Army Veteran struggled to understand the world around him and was often mocked for his condition.
“Hearing is a disability that people constantly criticize because you may hear one thing and not the other, and people will say you are only hearing what you want to hear,” said Flaherty.
In 2021, Flaherty underwent the first of two operations to repair his hearing.
Flaherty received cochlear implants, a device like a hearing aid but bypasses damaged hair cells in the ear and sends electric signals directly to the brain, according to Dr. Stacey Sturgulewski, Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital Audiology and Speech Department.
Sturgulewski is Hines VA’s Cochlear Implant Program Coordinator and helped Flaherty and other Veterans receive the treatment at no cost through her department.
“The job of a cochlear implant is to take the place of the sensory cells of the inner ear that are responsible for detection and understanding,” said Sturgulewski. “A cochlear implant is recommended for patients who experience a significant amount of difficulty understanding speech while using hearing aids.”
An overwhelming majority of patients, Sturgulewski said, see significant improvement in their ability to communicate and quality of life.
“Before receiving cochlear implants, I was testing out with 70 percent hearing in my right ear and 30 hearing in my left ear,” said Flaherty. “Because of my cochlear implants, I am getting closer to being able to hear equally in both ears.”
Following his surgeries, Flaherty is rediscovering a world many hearing-abled people may take for granted. Including hearing the turn signal in his vehicle and the rumble of his lawn mower, which he described as among the first things he could hear clearly.
“When you get cochlear implants after 50 years, you have to learn a lot of new words and sounds,” said Flaherty. “Thanks to my surgeon and the excellent staff at Hines, I am improving daily.”
To learn more about Hines VA’s Audiology and Speech Department, visit www.va.gov/hines-health-care/health-services.